Separator.



F. O. NICHOLAS.

SBPARATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.9, 1912.

Patented Feb. 18, 1913.

2 SHEETS SHEET 1.

l anum utoz F. C. NICHOLAS.

SBPABATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAILQ, 1912,

Patented Feb. 18, 1913.

Z SHEETB-SHEBT 2.

and useful Improvements in Separators,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS C. NICHOLAS, OF NEW, YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO UNITED MINING & TRUST 00., 0F WILMINGTON, DELAWARE. A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

SEPARAT OR.

Application filed March 9, 1912. Serial No. 682,585.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANCIS C. Nrcnonas. a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented nev;

0 which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the separation and classification of ores or other materials, and has for its object to render the process more expeditious and considerably cheaper.

With my method and apparatus, the substances to be separated are subjected to an impact of force, the exertion of which will cause particles of a certain size to collect with other particles of a similar size, and with the employment of skimmers in a series of troughs, arranged at an inclination, the accumulation of the particles are allowed to gravitate down the trough and are accurately sized by. the successive skimmers within the trough.

The skimmers are arranged successively within the inclined trough, and any number of superimposed troughs may be employed in accordance with the desired rapidity of the separations, and as the different accurately sized particles emerge from the trough I have arranged therebelow simple and effective means for separating each of the series of sized particles in accordance with their varying specific gravities.

I accomplish the above with the aid of simple mechanism, a satisfactory illustration of the same being shown in the accompanying drawings, and in which drawings- Figure 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus employed in carrying out my invention, parts being shown in section. Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the trough. Fig. 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional. view taken upon the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sectional view upon the line 47-42 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the Skimmers. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a slightly modified form of the trough. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the skimmers employed in the construction of the trough illustrated in Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken approximately on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is a front elevation of a series of troughs.

It is to be understood that the accompanying drawings are employed merely to illustrate the means whereby my invention may be reduced to practice-and that I am not to be limited to the precise structural features shown therein, as the invention is susceptible to such changes in form, proportion, material, etc, as will fall within the scope of the annexed claims.

In the device illustrated in the drawings.

I employ a trough 1, the same being made up of any desired number of sections 2. In the showing of the drawings each of the sections is substantially V-shaped in transverse section, and the said sections are supported upon a suitable frame 3. Each of the sections 2 has its longitudinal edges provided with inturned portions forming what may be termed Ways and which are designated by the numerals 4. The flanges or ways 4 do not extend the entire longitudinal length of the sections, and the said flanges 4 of one of the sections is adapted to engage with the longitudinal edges of the succeeding section, thus arranging the trough with what may be termed steps, as the outer face and edge of the first section engages with next section, and so on until the trough is completed. Each of the sect-ions 2 is provided with an elongated slot 5 which is arranged upon its opposite sides, and passing through the registering slots of the sections are headed bolts 6. The threaded port-ions of the bolts are arranged upon the outer sides of the sections and are provided with thumb nuts 7. By this means it will be noted that'any of the said sections are longitudinally adjustable with relation to the remaining sections, and that, through the medium of the nuts and bolts the said sections may be brought. tightly into engagement with each other. Each of the sections at its bottom and adjacent what may be termed its front or forward edge is provided with a substantially V-shaped cut away portion or opening 8, the walls of for the trough.

The trough is retained upon the frame 3 at a desired angle. suitable for the gravitation of the material to. be sized and separated, and it will be noted that by the longitudinal adjustment of the sections 2, the space between the ends of the sect-ions and the end walls of the V-shaped' openings or skimmers may be regulated to a nicety. The frame 3 is substantially rectangular and Patented Feb. 18, 1913.

the inner face and edge of the of a skeleton construction and mounted in suitable bearings provided by the said frame, and extending longitudinally of the frame-directly below the trough is a shaft 9. This shaft is rotated by any suitable or desired source of power, and arranged upon the said shaft, at spaced intervals and directly below the sections of the troughs opposite to the ends provided with the skimmers are flexible beater arms 10. These arms 1 10 are in the formof curved fingers and are secured upon suitable collars 11, which in 4 I turn are attached to the shaft 9. When the shaft is operated it will be noted that each of the series of arms 10 contact with the sections of the trough and impart upon the under faces thereof a direct blow which may be considered an impact of force which does not impart avibratory, oscillator or shaking movement to the sections of t e trough.

'This impact of force acts directly upon the substances to be separated and by this impact in the strata, which is first arranged within the upper sect-ion, designated by theskimmers, the lighter particles through the openings nearest the section 12, the heavier,

particles or what may be termed the gradings which successively increase in specific gravity through the remaining openings, while the heaviest particles-are deposited through the last section 2 of the trough.

It is to be noted that the separation or sizing of the material is accomplished by the gravitation of the said material within the trough in connection with the direct impact of force upon the bottom of the sections to gether with the inclined walls of the skimmer, and that no shakingoscillatory action or ,vibration is imparted to the sections of the trough as such action has been found,

from actual practice will combine the material instead of obtaining the desired object, that of separation. As stated the impact force not only sizes the material but assists the same in 'gravitating down the trough, and the heavier particles of the material responding first to the action'ofavity-and being also under-the influence o the impact blow will pass the openings nearest the section 12 or the trough. It will'thus be noted that the lighter particleswill fall through the first o 'ening adjacent the said section 12, the next eaviest through the second 0 ening, and so on until the heaviest particles pass over the last section of thetrough, the

i I skimmers directing the various sized particles toward their particular openings.

Arranged upon the frame 3, and at a suit-' able distance below the trough 1 and the of its ends extendin beyond the frame, andthe said ends may e either offset or provided with a suitable handle 16, wherebythe shaft 15 may be rocked.

The numerals 17 designate a plur'alit of substantially L-sliaped separators. Eac of these separators have their under faces provided with hearing brackets 18, through the bores or openings of which passes the shaft 15. Each of these brackets is provided with a retainin element, such as a screw 19, and

whereby t c said separators may be longitudinally adjusted upon the shaft and re-\ tained in the said adjusted position. One or both of the longitudinal sides of the frame may be closed, in which instance the closed side is provided with a plurality of openings 18, and these openings are disposed below the openings or passages pro-- vided between the skimmers and'the sections of the trough. It is, of course, understood that the graded material passing through the openings in the trough will, inaccordance with their .varyin specificgravities, spread to the shape of a an, theheavier particles falling nearest the vertical and it will be noted that'by adjusting the separatorsi'? upon the shaft 15 a desired grade or weight of each of the separate series of-particles will be caused to fall upon the horizontal member orbase-of the L-shaped separators.

Arranged opposite the side of the frame provided with the door-ways 18' is a track 20 upon which is mounted for travela whee] truck 21, .and by through the medium of its handle-lfi'fthe separators 17 will be inclined and the? articles received thereon will be deposited through the doorways or openings 18 truck 21.

In Figs.- 6, 7 and 8 I have-illustrated a" rotating the shaft to the slightly modified form of the trough. QAs

shown the trough is made up "of a'rseri'es of sections 22.

These sectionst are-intenposed-=one above the other and each of the ,sectionshas-its sides adjacent its end which connected}with the succeeding-sectionprovided with ,an'elongated- ,longitudinall extically extending elongated openings 24.

'The openings in the sidesof one of the sections are adapted "to register with the openings in the sides of theadjacent or coracting sections, and the numerals 25 designate tending enlarged opening 23 id Space 12o outer faces of the'sides,' engage by suitable thumb screws 26. Interposed-between the, I I adjacent or connected sections are spacingblocks 27, each of which being provided with 1st I the bolts are to be removed from the longitudinal openings when the sections are adjusted vertically. The sections are each subjected to an impact of force, the same being preferably produced by beater arms similar to those previously described, and the action of the material within the trough is similarto the action of the materials in the trough 1 when subjected to the impact force. The sections 22 each comprises a skimmer, the action of which is similar to that of the walls provided by the elongated and substantially V-shaped slots 8 of the trough sections 2. 1 In Fig. 9 I have illustrated a table 28 which is provided with longitudinally extending V-Shaped channels, and arranged within the channels are the substantially V-shaped troughs 29. The troughs are ar-' ranged in series, one adjacent the other, and in this instance the impact of force is delivered directly upon the under face of the table 28. It is to be stated that any number of tables and troughs may be employed.

From the above, when taken inconnection with the drawings, it is believed that the advantages of my device, the simplicity of the construction, as well as the method of operation will be perfectly-apparent to those skilled in the art to which such inventions appertain without further detailed description;

Having thus described the invention what I claim is:-- 1. In a separator, an inclined trough ,made up of stepped sections forming skim mers provided with'openings, means for imparting an impact force-to the bottom of the trough adjacent the openings provided by the ski'mmers to size the particles as well as to gravitate the same down the'trough and to force the sized particles of varying and increasing specific gravities successively through the openings, and means arranged below the trough for dividing the heavier of the evenly sized particles from the lighter particles.

2. In a separator, a trough constructed of a series of sections forming skimmers, means for adjusting any of the troughs with relation to the remaining troughs, a frame supporting the troughs, a shaft extending longitudinally of the frame, means for impartmg motion to, the shaft, beater arms upon the shaft and arranged to contact with the bottoms of each of the 'sectionsmaking up the trough, and said heater arms comprising a plurality of spaced flexible members,

substantially as described.

3. In a separator, a trough made up of a series of sections forming Skimmers, the said sections having their upper edges provided with longitudinal ways which serve as passages for the co-acting sections, the

sides'of each of the sections being provided with registering elongated openings, bolts passing through the openings, nuts for the bolts, a frame supporting the trough, a longitudinally extending shaft journaled within the frame and arranged below the trough, means for imparting motion to the shaft, heaters upon the shaft, each of said heaters comprising a plurality of flexible fingers arranged to contact successivelywith the bottom of the sections adjacent the Skimmers,

a second shaft journaled 'upon the frame and arranged below the first named shaft, and L-shaped-separators adjustably 4 sustained upon the'said second shaft, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

. FRANCIS C. NICHOLAS.

Witnesses:

E. Eomons'r'on, Jn, W, C. Davis. 

